The Bugs in Your Home

What this episode covers

What comes to mind when you think of bugs in your home? Most people picture German cockroaches or the wood devouring termites. Yet, you might be surprised at the diversity that actually exists. This week, we accompanied to research excursion of a small group of entomologists from the Nature Research Center in Raleigh. We were able to observe the amazing new study they're doing to examine the arthropods in people's homes. As it turns out, they had some pretty amazing findings. First, it's not uncommon to find 100 species of bugs in any given house. The other major findings were that 1) every house has lice 2) almost every house also has carpet beetles and 3) the most diverse group of organisms in the house are flies! But don't worry, there is nothing to be worried about. The insects living in our homes are actually a good thing. Many of them are there and we don't even know it. The most exciting thing, though, might be the fact that you can find so much biodiversity without ever leaving your home. In fact, this is a great video to show your students, to inspire them to start looking for biodiversity in their own homes. For more information about this project, information about finding bugs in your home, and stories about these field excursions, visit YourWildlife.org.

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